Machine for making milk bottle caps



Oct. 3. 1944'. P. w; RYSER ,3

MACHINE FOR MAKING MILK BOTTLE CAPS Filed May 27, 1940 v s Sheets-Sheet 1 iNVENTflR PETER w; RYSER Oct. 3, 1 944. P. w. RYsER 2,359,531

MACHINE FOR MAKING MILK BOTTLE CAPS Filed May 27 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 m am INVENTOR PEJER W. RYSER WNW Oct. 3, 1944. P. w. RYSER MACHINE FOR MAKING MILK BOTTLE CAPS Filed may 27} 1940 s Sheets-Sheet a TWI'TIIUFT mvzmdn rmn w. nvs a ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 3, 1944 MACHINE FOR .MAKING BOTTLE APS "Peter Ryser, Portland,-Qreg. Application 'May. 27, 1940, :Serial Now-337369- 3 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in -machines for-the manufacture of milk bottle caps, the caps to be made by my-machine being of the so-called disktype made :fromfibrous -materials,

having a pulling tabassociated therewith for removing the cap from the milk bottle, with the base end .of the tabbeingstapledto the "body of the cap to prevent its being torn from the cap.

In theproduction ofthe cap the final operation is that of coating the-same-with-asuitable Wax, as parafiin, and finally-passing -the-same within the container.

My invention is comprised primarily of a frame, the top portion of which is hinged, at one end and is adapted for being raised and lowered. The roll of paper from which the caps are to be -the cap to be punched';-then stapling the base end of the tabythen cutting the cap from the sheet by punching; then conveying the caps through the wax for coating the same, and finally cooling and delivering the capsinto a receiving container.

The primarypurpose and object of my invention is to produce a simply constructed device-for the purpose intended; one that will be rugged in construction and one :that will have along and useful life, with practical freedom from mechanical operating annoyances.

A still further object of my invention isto so construct my device that it will have a minimum first cost.

A still further object of my invention is to so construct the device through the operation of which the dairyman and small milk distributor may make his own caps with-workmen commonly employedby'dairiesand milk distributing plants.

Withthese and incidental objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combination of parts,- the essentialelementsof which are-set forth in the appended claims, and a preferred form of embodi- :In the drawings:

Fig. I is .a fragmentaryaside view, partially in section. of the. assembleddevice.

' Fig. II is a fragmentarytsectional.end .ViGWgOf :the assembled-device.

Fig. iII-I is afragmentary sectional end viewiof :the device, taken along the..line;III'I-II.of:Fig.1I.

fFig, 1V is .a fragmentary plan .view of .;a. strip from whichmilk bottle capsareto be made, from which milk caps have beenpunched and in=which the pulling-ta'b has been made andv stapled but in which the cap .hasnot been punched.

Fig. V is a fragmentary side View of .the assembleddevice. This-view isof theinkingrolls and the printing pads utilized for printing the caps to-be formed. This view is. taken on line VV of Fig..;II.

*Fig. is-a -fragmenta-ry planview of theim- -mersingtank, the cooling chute, and the elevat- "ing rolls utilized in off -bearingand. delivering :the finished caps :intoa shippingtube.

Fig. VII is a sectional end view of the mechanism illustrated -in Fig. VI. This-viewistaken on line VII--'-VH of Fig.

Fig. VII-I is .a-perspeetiveplan view of the milk bottle-cap that is formed'by-my machine.

--Like reference characters refer to like'parts throughout the several views.

I-form my machine of asuitable --fabricat;ed bed I, and I support the bed upon'pairs of legs 2 and 3-that are disposed at the opposite ends of the bed.

--A-sup-porting-frame =4-is provided. The frame 4 is in hinged relationship with the bed l. This is accomplishedby supporting a-shaft-5 within suitable-journalled bearings disposedrespectivel vvithin the bed l -and-within-the-frame 4.

Milk'bottle caps are made from strip material 6. The strip material generaly comes i-n-rolls, and I-have-here shown-thestript as beingunwound from a roll l. The-roll 1 issupported upon a shaft fl, and the shaft 8 is mounted upon an-y suitable stand-9.

-In order "that due compensation may be made for the-decreasing ofthe diameter of the roll I as-the paper strip-is drawn therefrom, I provide apair of arms) thatare suitably supported upon -the-legs 3,- and I- -mount a roller H-within the upper end of-t-he arms "ID. The top-of"tl 1 e roller i H is in reg-istry-wit-h-the under side of thestrip "and 'in-registry alignment-with the'strip as it passes through the machine.

' '-A pair of --feedi-ng rollers, nothere -shown,- are mounted within a s'uitable frame 12. *The top roller is mounted-within anadjustable block 13,

' pinion 34.

and the top roller is made to engage the top of the strip of paper.

The bottom roller is mounted upon a shaft l4, and the shaft I4 is journalled within the frame l2, with the frame l2 being supported upon the feeding end of the bed I.

An arm I5 is mounted upon the shaft l4, and a ratchet wheel I6 is fixedly secured to the shaft M. A ratchet pawl I1 is carried by the arm l5. The ratchet pawl I1 is hingedly secured to the arm I5, and the movable end of the pawl is made to ride upon and engage the toothed surface of the ratchet wheel I6.

A bracket I8 is also secured to the arm I5, and a spring I9 is disposed between the bracket l8 and the pawl I1 and normally maintains contact between the pawl and the ratchet wheel.

Suitable feeding pressure is developed between the respective feeding rolls through the action of a pressure adjusting hand screw 20. A table 2| is disposed beneath the bed I, and the table 2| is supported at one end by the legs 3.. It is suspended'from the bed by. its opposite end by a suspension member 22. V

Connecting rods 23 are provided for imparting an up and down movement to the frame 4. A floating journal block 24 is mounted within the upper end of the connecting .rod 23, and a. shaft 25 is mounted within the floating block 24. The floating block 24 is positioned within the connecting rod 23 by a'hand adjusting screw 26. The shaft 25 is positioned relative to the table 4 by a journal block 21.

A compression spring I09 is disposed within the line of travel and in contacton its respective ends 7 with the floating journal blocks 24, and the amount of compression within the spring is determined through the hand adjusting screw 26..

I place an electric switch H0 in registry with the adjusting screw 26, and in the event of any foreign matter being placed between the printing heads 68 and the platen 61 or between the tab forming dies 69 and-1|l and the anvil block 1|, or between the respective punches 16, 11, 18, and 19 and the die block 15, the plunger of the switch I I0 will be made to contact the screw 26, which will throw the switch and therefore stop the motor, because the switch H0 is disposed within the same electric circuit that supplies energy to the prime mover 28. v A prime mover, as an electric motor 28, is mounted upon a table 2|, and a driving pulley 29 is disposed upon the armature shaft of the prime mover. W

, A shaft 30 is journalled within a bracket 3| mounted upon the table 2|, and a pulley 32 is disposed upon the shaft 30. Driving relationship is effected between the pulleys 29 and 32 by a belt 33.

A pinion 34 is mounted upon the shaft 30, and a master gear 35 coacts withand is driven by the The gear 35 is secured to a crank shaft 35. The shaft 36 is journalled within any suitable support 31 that rests upon the table 2|. The connecting rods 23 and 23a are two in number, and they are secured to the crank arms 38 and 39 respectively that are disposed at the opposite ends of the shaft 36, so that as the crank gear 35 is rotated the crank shaft 36 will also be rotated and an up and down movement will be imparted to the connecting rods 23 and 23a.

A pitman rod 40 is hingedly connected on its one end to the arm I5 and upon its opposite end to a block 4|. The connecting rod 23 has a slot 42 disposed therein. and the block 4| is adjustable along the slot 42 by an adjusting hand set screw 43.

As the crank shaft 36 is rotated, a pendulumlike action is imparted to the connecting rods 23 and 23a, and simultaneously therewith an up and down movement is imparted to the connecting 'tated to feed the strip of paper 6 for the space required for one milk bottle cap at each rotation of the crank shaft 36, and likewise an up and down movement is also imparted to the swinging end of the table 4.

In the production of milk bottle caps through the use of my machine, I initially print the cap before the forming of the pulling tab or' the stapling of the. sameat the base end of the tab.

I accomplish this by placing printing, heads upon 7 the plungers, here shown as four in number, in Fig. II at 68. These plungers are carried by a support 41A that is fixedly secured to the frame 4.

Inking rollers 48 and 49 are provided for inking the printing heads 68 in advance of each printing operation. The inking rollers are carried on the lower end of the movable arm 50, and the movable arm 50 is hinged at its upper end about a hinged pin 5|.

Guide bars 52 are provided. These guide bars 52 determine the path of movement of the ink rollers 48 and 4 9, and a coil spring 53 that issecured upon itsone end to the movable arm 56 and upon its opposite end to the bifurcated head 54. The purpose of thespring is to urge the inking rollers into contact and out of contact with the printing heads, the same being so timed as to move and ink the printing heads in timed relationship with the printing operation, so that at each printing operation the rollers are passed over the printing heads twice for each printing operation. 1

A connecting rod is provided for moving the inking rollers and the inking instrumentalities associated therewith. The connecting rod is hingedly secured to the bifurcated head 54 by a hinged pin 51, and the bifurcated head 51 is rockably supported upon a shaft 58.

A fountain 59 is provided for the ink, and the ink rollers 48 and 49 are replenished by contacting the same with an ink supplying drum 60, or

other inking instrumentality that is associated with the fountain of theconventional type not here shown, the ink supplying drum 60 being placed in the line of travel of the ink rollers, and over which the same passes at each printing cycle.

The shaft 6| about which the inking roller 60 is disposed has an arm'62 disposed thereupon, and

a ratchet wheel 60a is secured to the shaft 6|; with a feeding pawl coacting with and partially rotating the ratchet wheel 60a at each movement of the arm 62.

The feeding pawl 63 is supported upon a shaft 64. An arm 65 is secured to the shaft 58, and as the shaft 58 is rotated through the movement of the bifurcated head 54 a pendulum-like action is imparted to the arm 65.

A connecting rod 66 connects the respective arm 62 and 65, ,to impart a feeding action to the feeding pawl 63. Therstrip 6 is drawn .over a suitable platen block 61. If more than one color isto be printed upon the cap to be formed, additional printing heads, as shown at 68, are provided, which may be inked as heretofore described.

In order to provide for more than one color of inking, the ink rollers may be deeply grooved between their ends in order that the different colcred inks may be confined to the surfaces of the roller between the end and the split portion.

In milk bottle caps of the disk type, it is necessary to provide a pullin tab upon the top side of the cap. I accomplish this through the use of ta- :forming dies 69 and 10. The dies 69 and I are removably secured to the under side of the frame 4 and the printed strip from which the cap are to be made is pulled over any suitable anvil block II. The dies 69 and I0 are positioned and arranged to score the cap at the location and in the form of the tab, but to not entirely out through the material from which the cap is made. After the tab is scored along the line of the staple I4 and slit around that portion of the edge of the tab that is to be pulled upward from the body of the cap after the cap has been applied to the bottle, it is then necessary to staple the seared tab I2 adjacent its base end, as illustrated to prevent the pulling of the tab from the cap. The tab is of the conventional type formed on milk bottle caps and no special claim is made therefor. The tab is pulled up when the cap is to be removed from the milk bottle.

A stapling machine I3 is mounted within the frame 4, and at each cycle of operation of the frame 4 the stapling machine is actuated to force a wire staple I4 through the cap and to staple the cap I I2 at the base of the tab I2.

The strip of paper is drawn through the sta- V pling machine and between the base of the machine, and the staples in order to facilitate the same being forced through the strip of paper. After the milk bottle caps have been printed the tabs are formed thereupon, and the same are stapled to the cap; it is then finally released to shear the cap from the strip.

I place a die block I5 in registry with and immediately below the punches, here shown as four in number at 16, I1, I8, and 19, with the die block having a hole 80 disposed therein for each of the respective punches, with each of said holes being placed immediately below and in registry with the punch disposed thereabove.

It may be found desirable to place the respective punches out of registry with each other transversely of the machine in order to lessen the blow created by the punching of the cap from the stock of strip material. See arrangement in Fig. VI.

Heretofore it has been the general custom to form milk bottle caps from waxed paper stock. The wax coating in many instances prevents the printing being satisfactory, did not completely coat the paper, and in addition thereto necessitated the use of a greater amount of wax because the entire surface of the strip was coated.

The punched cap-s I I2 in my operation are deposited within a vat 8|. The vat BI is filled with coating wax, and the temperature of the wax is maintained at proper working viscosity by the placing of an electric heat element 82 within or without the vat, and the temperature may be automatically maintained by placing a thermostat 83 within the vat 8|, with the thermostat 83 being placed within the electric circuit for supplying electric energy to the electric heater 82.

An endless conveying belt 84 is operated within the vat and is power driven to convey the punched caps H2 from the vat; in order to insure complete immersion within the wax a dunking roller B'S'rides the top of the endless conveying belt 84, which requires all caps II2 to pass between the dunkin roller '85 and the top side of the belt, which insures a complete immersion of all caps passingv through the vat.

The endless conveyin belt 84 also conveys the caps II2 from the vat and delivers the same into a discharge cooling chute 86.

The completed coated caps II2 are deposited within the cooling chute, and I provide a suction through the chute 86 by connecting a tube 81 to a source of suction not here shown.

In the event that normal air does not cool or solidify the wax sufiiciently rapid that is disposed upon the .outer surface of the caps, the same may be suitably cooled or refrigerated by any of the well known refrigerating means, as by drawing the air entering the tube 86 through a refrigerated box 88 that may be filled with ice or with coils through which a refrigerant is circulated.

The endless belt84 is driven by a prime mover 89. The prime mover 89 is supported upon any suitable bracket support 90. A bevel gear 9| is mounted upon the armature shaft of the prime mover, and the gear 9| coacts with and drives the gear 92.

The gear 92 is mounted upon a shaft 93, and a bevel gear 94 is also mounted upon the shaft 93, and the same coacts with and drives a bevel gear 95 that is mounted upon the shaft 96.

Suitable drums or sprockets 91 and 98 are disposed upOn the shafts 96, and 99, to thereby drive the endless conveying belt 84.

Milk bottle caps are generally delivered to the ultimate consumer in tubes, and I automatically place the caps in position for being delivered into tubes by placing a pair of coacting worm gears I00 and IOI, with the gears being placed in registry with the discharge end I02 of the chute 86.

The finished caps are fed by the worm gears I00 and IOI and are delivered into a filler tube I03. The filler tube is inclined from the horizontal upward to insure contact of the caps within the tube, and a tube to be filled is inserted within the bell-shaped end I04 of the tube I03.

The respective worms I00 and IOI are driven by beveled gears I05 and I06, and coacting spur gears are mounted upon the outer ends of each of the worm gears to drive the same, as illustrated at I01.

Upon the filling of the tube I08 with the required number of caps, the same is removed from.

the filler tube and an additional one is added thereto.

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended to confine the invention to the embodiment herein shown and described, as it is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What I claim is:

l. A milk bottle cap machine comprised of a bed, legs disposed at the opposite ends of the bed, a frame superposed the bed extending longitudinally of the bed and hinged relative thereto, printing heads, tab formin heads, and punches secured to the frame downwardly extending therefrom, and a platen block disposed below the printing heads, an anvil disposed below the tab forming heads, and a, die block disposed below the punches, with the lower end of the printing heads, the tab forming heads, and the punches being in normal spaced relation with the platen,

the anvil block, and the die block disposed therebelow, means'for intermittently progressing a strip of paper to be made into caps over the platen block, the anvil, and the die block, and means for imparting an up and down movement to the swinging end of the-frame.

2. A machine of the class described consisting of a stationary frame, a hinged frame mounted over said stationary frame, said hinged frame having attached thereto printing heads, tab forming punches, stapling punches and cap severing punches in series, and a conveyor for moving a paper web past all of said units while said hinged frame is in an uppermost position.

3. A machine of the class described consisting of a stationary bed, a vertically movable frame disposed over said bed, means for drawing a paper web between said bed and frame, a printing unit carried by said frame adapted to print milk bottle caps on said web while resting on said bed, a tab outlining punch carried by. said fram for partially severing a. tab within the boundary of the printed cap, a stapling unit for placing staples across one end of each tab and a punching unit attached to said frame for severing the caps from the web.

PETER W. RYSER. 

